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Highway History

 

The Eisenhower Expressway Chicago, Illinois

From William Mullen's "Road Warriors" in Sunday, The Chicago Tribune Magazine (October 20, 1985):

In 1964, the Chicago City Council, whether or not it knew of Eisenhower's unhappiness about freeways in urban areas, decided to bestow a rather ironic honor upon him. Four years after Eisenhower left the presidency, the council, by unanimous proclamation, renamed the Congress Street Expressway the Dwight D. Eisenhower Expressway.

Eisenhower's response was lukewarm.

Chicago reporters who sought him out for a comment found him vacationing at the El Dorado Country Club in Palm Desert, Calif. His brief statement, issued through a secretary, was "I am highly complimented by the action of the city council and the major and express my appreciation to anyone connected with this thought."

Updated: 06/27/2017
Federal Highway Administration | 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE | Washington, DC 20590 | 202-366-4000